


My Campfire

by The_Lazy_Doormouse



Category: SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: Drabble, Everyone be nice to Minghao pls, Family Feels, Fluff, How Do I Tag, Idols, Is this how tagging works?, Light Jeongcheol Ship, Light Meanie Ship, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Team as Family
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-10
Updated: 2018-02-18
Packaged: 2019-02-12 21:07:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 12,560
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12968445
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Lazy_Doormouse/pseuds/The_Lazy_Doormouse
Summary: Minghao was unable to participate in SVT activities because of his back pain. These are stories of how each members cheered him up &/or coddled Minghao during that time.Sorry, I suck at summaries. I just want everyone to be nice to Minghao and this was the result (^▽^;)





	1. Prologue.

**Author's Note:**

> When it was announced that Minghao will be taking a break because of his back pain, I had plot bunnies...& decided to write this out. its unbetaed so pls forgive my mistake!!! Each chapter will show Minghao's interaction with each of the member. There'll be some exceptions...but you'll see soon!

Prologue Starts:

Minghao paced around the room. He was too tense to sit, even though both Jeonghan and Joshua left a space for him at the sofa. The other members were scattered around the room, doing their own things and shooting him worried looks that Minghao choose to ignore. Finally, the wait was over and the door opened. Their managers and the CEO of Pledis came out of the meeting room, followed by a weary-looking Seungcheol. Their eyes immediately met and to his dismay, Seungcheol shook his head. The CEO confirmed his dread. “Minghao, it is decided that you will be taking a break from promotional activities. Use this time to rest and recover your health. You are to avoid any activities that will put a strain on your back, do you understand?”

Prologue End.

The actual news (& my inspiration):  
[Soompi News-Seventeen's The8](https://www.soompi.com/2017/11/10/seventeens-the8-take-break-promotion-activites-due-health/)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh and guess what song was playing on loop when I was planning to write this?....Yes, Seventeen's Campfire. Those who hadn't check out the lyrics to this song...I highly recommend you to do it. It was amazing. I thought that the song title will fit the type of story, I'm trying to write, thats why this fit is called My Campfire. Srsly, do check out the song & lyrics!!! X)


	2. Will You Come Out Of The Room Now?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~ Here is the first chapter! Guess who will interact with Minghao, first? :3  
> Unfortunately, this work is unbetaed. Pls pardon my mistakes!!! (TvT) Pls tell me if I made a glaring mistake...I'll fix it asap!  
> As usual, Kudos & Comments are greatly appreciated!!! :) Thanks, hope you enjoy the story

Minghao knew that he shouldn’t do it, but he couldn't help himself. He spent the entire morning sulking in his room. It was a Saturday and Seventeen had finished most of their pre-recording and live performances for M Countdown and KBS, last night. This earned them a rare, off-duty Saturday. Everyone else was already up, enjoying their rare day off and yet here he was, being moody and refusing to leave his bed. Minghao sighed and curled himself into a smaller ball. He then quickly threw the blanket over himself when he heard the door opened.

“...Hyung? Are you awake?”

Minghao groaned in defeat. He knew that one of them will eventually come to check on him.

“Yes I’m awake...What do you want Chan?”

The maknae chose to ignore his question and went over to sit on the floor, right next to Minghao’s bunk bed. 

“Are you okay hyung? Are you in pain anywhere?”

“I’m doing fine. I just...wanna be alone right now.”

“We know how much you hated this hyung. But you’ve been in this room for almost half the day. Being alone for too long isn’t good. Everyone’s worried about you.”

“...Tell them not to worry about me.”

Chan huffed in amusement.

“It doesn’t work like that hyung. We can’t help but worry about you, especially Jun-hyung. Did you know that it took three people to drag him, out of the room this morning? He said that he wanted to stay with you. And FYI, Mingyu-hyung and Wonwoo-hyung had to _physically sit on him_ , to stop him from barging in right now. I honestly hope that you don’t need more ‘alone’ time, cause then we’ll have to add Scoups-hyung on top of Jun-hyung too.”

The image of Junhui being crushed under a pile of their friends, made Minghao chuckle. That explains why their shared bedroom was mostly empty this morning. It was usually impossible to have peace when you share a room with 5 other guys. Minghao was touched that his friends had made this arrangements to give him some privacy.

“Thank you Chan. I know that I should come out soon. I’m just so...angry and disappointed in myself. Everyone else is coping well with the schedule, the training and events. But somehow, I am...unable to do it and fell sick. Even you, the youngest in our team, can cope with it. Why am I so weak? I’m such a useless hyung.” Minghao mumbled from underneath his blanket.

A second pass in silence, before Minghao felt his blanket being pulled upwards.

“Channie, what-”

“Don’t say that hyung!!! That’s not true. I think that you are one of the coolest hyung I’ll ever have! I don’t think that you are useless! You helped me a lot in brainstorming dance choreographies, you gave me really nice fashion advices and you even taught me how to take a nice selca! You are not useless and certainly, not a weak person. I think you just fell sick because you have been practicing way more often than any of us! It’s definitely not because you are weaker!”

Chan practically shouted his opinion at Minghao’s face. Hopefully the dimmed room could hide his blush. Minghao wasn’t expected to be complemented. 

“Uh, is that so..?’

“Yes it is! And I think that you are one of the strongest people in here. Like, you even won medals for martial arts competitions before! That is not something a weak person could do. Your illness now, is just you being unlucky and careless. It doesn’t mean that you are useless or weak hyung. I don’t think less of you and I don’t think the others will as well. You have to trust me hyung!!! Do I have to ask Jun-hyung to come in here and repeat everything in Chinese??? Or maybe google transla-”

“No, no, no, It’s fine! You are fine Chan. I understand everything you said.”

Chan stopped searching for a dictionary and peered at his hyung, trying to see if Minghao meant what he said. His expression must have convinced Chan because the next thing he knew, the Maknae was smiling sweetly at him.

“You understand right? Does this mean that hyung is going to stop sulking and come out of the bedroom, so that the rest of us won’t feel guilty to use the room? Does this means that hyung will now talk to us, like what you should have done so in the first place?”

A surprised silence filled the room before Minghao narrowed his eyes at the smiling maknae.

“...You are not a baby anymore Channie. You are Jeonghan’s little devil. I think he’s affecting your morals.”

Chan pretended to think about it before nodding sagely towards Minghao.

“Yes, I think you are right hyung. What should we do? Could you ask him to stop hanging around me? Or maybe ask Joshua-hyung to adopt me instead?”

The two looked at each other for a second before bursting with laughter. Maybe Chan is right. Talking to people made Minghao feels better. He smiled at his cheeky maknae.

“Thank you, Chan.”

Chan grinned at the older boy. He was always being helped by his hyungs. It felt good to know that he too, could support and be there for them, as they did for him.

“Not a problem hyung! And I meant every word that I said to you. No one will think less of you. And if they did, tell me who felt that way, and I'll set them straight! No one bullies _my_ hyung. Now, let’s all go out and unleash Jun-hyung so that Mingyu-hyung can make us some lunch. I'm hungry!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok, so I just want to make it clear:
> 
> The feelings and reactions in this fanfic did not happen in real life. I don't know what Minghao thinks or feels about his back pains and what was written here, are solely based on my imagination. I just want to make it clear because I didn't want to come across as being presumptuous or anything like that. I hope you understand. Thank you!
> 
> So, yeah baby Dino came first~XD Hope you enjoy it. Please look forward to the next chapter! :)


	3. Did You Guys Bought The Entire Mall?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello~So this chapter is the one where Minghao will interact with with more than one members! He would be interacting with three of them. Can you guess which three members is it??? :D As usual, pls pardon my mistakes & pls comment/kudos. Thanks! hope u enjoy this~

Minghao spent the rest of his afternoon just lounging in front of the TV. After he came out of his moody morning, Jun had attached himself to Minghao and spent the rest of the day following him around. This explained why Jun is currently squashed next to him, who was sitting beside Seungcheol and Hansol on the sofa. It was a bit of a squeeze to fit the four of them in the sofa, but somehow, they did it. On the other side, Wonwoo was lounging on a beanbag, reading a book as usual. Minghao was enjoying the peace and quiet but the nagging in his brain continued. Something felt off. Where did the noisy ones went to?

_DING DONG~!_

The occupants in the living room looked puzzledly at one another. Everyone living in here should have a key of their own, including their managers. Who could be ringing the doorbell at-

“Guys, its me! Your lovely main vocalist, Boo Seungkwan! Can you help me open the door please? Our hands are full here!”

_Well, there goes peace and quiet_. Minghao mused as he, Hansol and Jun (who was actually just following Minghao), went to open the door. When the door opened, the three of them had to take one full minute to process what they saw.

On the other side of the door, stood Seungkwan, Seokmin and Soonyoung, each carrying at least 8 shopping bags on their hands. At their feet was more shopping bags. Minghao understood why they couldn't have opened the door. How did they even managed to carry all these things by themselves???

“Holy Chilli Chickens. What did you guys do? Bought the entire shopping mall?!” Hansol asked in disbelief, with a hint of amusement coloring his voice. 

“Don’t sass me young man, come and help me bring these into the living room!” Seungkwan insisted as he dumped his shopping bags onto Hansol.

“Here you go Jun-hyung! Please take these to the living room too.” Seokmin said as he addressed Jun. He then turned and beamed a smile at Minghao. “Hey Minghao! You’re out of your room! That’s good. Oh no, you don’t have to help us carry these. Just ask Seungcheol-hyung to come and help please. I can see him hiding behind the sofa!” 

“Right, right! Go and relax Minghao-yah. Wait for us in the living room. We’re bringing all of these to there!” Soonyoung added as he tried to shoo Minghao away.

Minghao rolled his eyes but nodded at Soonyoung. “I’m fine hyung. But the doctor did tell me not to lift up heavy items so I’ll do what you said. I’ll call the others to help you carry the rest of the bags.”

Once everything was transported safely, the group gathered in the living room.

“What the heck did the three of you do this time?” Jihoon asked warily, sending the BooSeokSoon trio a distrustful glare. 

The glare somehow to encourage Soonyoung to speak up.

“I’m glad you asked! Well, the three of us decided to go to the mall today…”

“...with our own money and some of the manager’s money...” Seokmin continued excitedly.

“...to go and buy some equipments for Minghao!” Seungkwan concluded happily.

When the news sank in, the other members began nodding and hi-5ing the trio. Minghao on the other hand, does not compute.

“I-Wait, What?! For Me? What equipments?”

“Its for your back pain hyung! We asked the managers and your doctor about what tools you might need to ease your pain. They gave us a list and then Hoshi-hyung decided to buy it for you. Seokmin-hyung and I were there to accompany him but we started buying as well...and before I know it, it kinda turned into a big shopping spree.” Seungkwan explained sheepishly.

“Aww, don’t looked so worried Minghao. We didn't get you anything weird, I promise! Here, come and see what we bought for you.” Seokmin waved him to the sofa and began opening the shopping bags.

Minghao could not believe it. Hansol was right, it seemed like they bought the entire mall for EVERYTHING, that was related to back pain. The items they bought were necessary for alleviating back pains and could be used for day-to-day activities. From posture cushions, to chair supports, to pain relief medications and even a back brace that he could wear under his shirt. All of those were bought for him. There were at least two different brands of each and two different colors for each items.

“Don’t be too impressed yet! Here’s my winner pick!” Seungkwan interrupted Seokmin’s explanation and dropped a box onto Minghao’s lap. He slowly opened the box and was greeted with a black and silver pair of Nike shoes.

“These are Nike Air Zoom Vomero. The clerk said that these are the best running shoes for back pain. They said that you shouldn't do any strenuous exercises but when you do have to exercise, please use these hyung! I even picked the color for you. I think you’ll look good in it!”

Before Minghao could reply, Soonyoung interrupted the conversation.

“Tsk, tsk. You called that your winner? Have you forgotten what I bought for my dear junior?”

Seungkwan fake-gasped. “That’s not fair hyung! And you split the cost with manager-nim!” 

“Hey, but it’s my idea! And 65% of that was my money!”

“Just tell us what you got for Minghao, hyung!” Seokmin cheered excitedly.

“Hehehe~I got you a...drumroll please...a memory foam mattress! I searched it up online and they said that it will really help with back pains. I split the cost with manager-nim though, cause it was kinda pricy, but I think that it’s really worth it. The mattress will be delivered to here by tomorrow afternoon!”

“...You really bought him a memory foam mattress?” Jihoon asked to confirm. 

“Yep, I did.”

“Isn't it expensive?”

“Yeah, well...like I said, I split some of the cost with manager-nim? And it's totally worth it…? Only the best for Minghao?...Please don't be mad at me?”

“...Unbelievable.” Jihoon muttered and rolled his eyes. But a small smile tugged the corners of his lips, telling everybody that he was not at all displeased at Soonyoung.

By this time, other members were unwrapping and installing the newly bought equipments around their dorm. Seungcheol was organizing which items should be installed where, while Joshua was collecting all the portable items into one bag and the non-portable items into a box. Jeonghan went to call and thank all the managers who participated in the shopping spree, while Jihoon sat down in a corner with his lyrics notebook, probably to jot down some ideas that unexpectedly came to him. However, Minghao was still sitting speechlessly at the living room. He wasn't expecting the three of them to spend so much for him. He swallowed and tried to find his voice.

“Hyung, Seokmin and Seungkwan, it's really nice of you to do this but this is a lot of things. How much does everything cost??? I have to pay you back at least-”

Seungkwan quickly cuts him off. “Nope, nope, noooope! You don’t have to pay us back hyung! I want to buy these for you, out of my own free will. It’s the same with the managers too. We just asked them to drive us to the mall. But when we started shopping for you, they somehow joined us and started buying things for you too! We all want to give these to you.” 

Seokmin nodded. “That’s true. Think of it as a gift from us and from the managers! Remember when you helped me for the dance steps to Highlight? Or the dance for Don’t Wanna Cry? I can name many more, but I’m just saying that, this is our way of thanking you, for all the things you’ve done for us. You helped us, so let us help you.” he explained with a kind smile.

“I...but you’ve helped me too! I can’t accept these gifts just like that…”

The trio shared a look before Soonyoung inched closer towards Minghao.

“Okay, Minghao. I admit that we may have gone a little overboard with the shopping...but we sincerely want to give these to you. And for me...it's kind of like...an apology from me.”

Minghao frowned. “An apology? For what hyung? you didn’t do anything wrong.” 

Soonyoung took a deep breath and sighed. “No, I wasn’t paying enough attention. As the leader of the performance team, I should have taken better care of my members. I should have warned you not to practice too hard or maybe made you rest more often or something! But I didn't. I let you overwork and I feel really bad right now. These are like my apology gifts to you. And also my promise, to take better care of my members in the future!”

Minghao stared at his unit leader in surprise. He honestly didn’t know if he wanted to hit Soonyoung or hug him.

“Hyung! this is not your fault. Don’t blame yourself! I think that you are a good leader and I don’t blame you for anything. You don't have to apologize to me!”

Soonyoung studied Minghao's face before tilting his head like a hamster.

“Yeah? Thank you Minghao, but I’ll still blame me. I am burdened with guilt! Can you at least accept the items we bought for you? See, Seokmin and Seungkwan feels the same, right? Pretty please? That's the only way I’ll feel less guilty about what happened to you.” Soonyoung begged as he fluttered his eyelashes at Minghao. And seriously, Minghao didn't even know why he was surprised anymore. His unit leader could go from serious to L.O.L in 0.01 seconds.

“Oh, and we can re-use these items again Minghao! I mean, what it someone else suffers back pains in the future? If that happens, we will be ready!”

“Ooh good thinking Seok!”

“Thank you Soon!”

“Wow, did you guys just ignored me? I’m so hurt!”

Minghao rolled his eyes fondly at the trio. They were weird and loud but they were really nice. He was surprised by all this, but at the same time, he was also very touched by their sincerity and their concerns for him. They were not family related by blood but they were still willing to spend much of their fortune, on him. Minghao felt grateful to all of his supportive friends.

“Okay. I will accept these. But don't buy me anymore stuffs okay?"

The trio quickly nodded and held up their pinky to promise.

"In that case I suppose I should show you my gratitude. Thank you so much, Hoshi-hyung, Seokmin and Seungkwan. I know that I should buy some equipments for my self but I wasn't sure where to start. These will be really useful to me. Even though you clearly bought _way_ more equipments than what I actually needed, I really appreciate it.”

“Aww are you moved to tears hyung? You’re welcome! Now, let’s do a group hug!” Seungkwan shouted and Minghao was enveloped by a warm hug from the trio.

“Guys, do you want dinner? Jun is going to order Chinese food. Go tell him what you want.” Jeonghan said casually, as he walked pass the living room. He then entered the bedroom, where he would show Seungcheol and Jihoon the cute group hug picture that he just saved on his phone.

“Okay. Thanks Jeonghan-hyung! Let’s go and order some food guys~” Soonyoung replied as he jumped up and began searching for Jun. He was closely followed by Seungkwan, while the other two 97 liners followed at a slower pace. Minghao was content to bask in the trio's company for awhile longer. Maybe he ought to be nicer towards the three of them.

But that line of thought was immediately erased when Seokmin open his mouth.

“Hey Minghao? I was wondering, why aren’t you calling me ‘Hyung’? I mean...I’m like, at least 8 months older than you, right Minghao? Minghao? Hey, where did he go...?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BooSeokSoo trio appears~!:) I hope u guys don't mind, but in this fanfic, I'll try to use as much real names as possible. I think it shows a more intimate relationship between the members. So no stage names! The only stage name that I'll use is Joshua (instead of Jisoo) because I kinda like it and because my auto correct often corrects Jisoo to Jihoon. Tks for reading!:)


	4. Don't Worry...It's Not My Wallet!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! I hope you enjoy the stories so far! If it's not obvious, all the stories goes in chronological order. So they kinda take turns to shower Minghao with lots of love~(=w=) Anyways, the usual, Pls pardon my mistakes! and pls tell me if I made a glaring mistake, I'll fix it asap! Tks~

The next day was a lazy Sunday. Seventeen had some free time in the morning but after lunch, they were supposed to attend more events for their album promotion. Unlike Joshua, who goes to Church whenever they have Sundays off, the other members preferred to spend their Sunday mornings on their respective beds. Minghao chose to sleep in as well. He ignored somebody’s -wait, that sounds like Wonwoo’s- alarm, and scooted deeper into his bed. He was about to drift off again, when his blanket was forcefully yanked away, leaving him confused and cold on his own bed.

“Wha-? What’s happening? Who’s attacking? Where are my nunchucks?!” Minghao shrieked as he blindly scrambled up into a defensive position.

A chuckle caught his attention. He followed the sound and squinted at his blanket thief. A fully-awake Yoon Jeonghan stood next to his bed, grinning from ear to ear. The blanket on his hand proved that he was indeed, Minghao’s blanket thief. 

Minghao would have been shouting angrily at his hyung...if he wasn’t so confused. It was a well-know fact that Jeonghan loves to sleep. This peach-haired hyung would have slept his entire day away, every single day, if none of his roommates woke him up. So why was Yoon Jeonghan awake at 9 am on a Sunday morning? Did Joshua-hyung finally convinced him to go to church? Will the world end today? What is going on???

“C’mon, wake up Minghao-yah~ Go get dressed. We are going out for awhile and we’ll be back before lunch.”

“Huh? No, I don’t want to go to Church hyung. No offense to you or Joshua-hyung.”

His hyung laughed at his reply. “No silly, we aren't going to Church. Just get ready soon. We’ll leave in...20 minutes. C'mon, I have coffee ready for you too.”

20 minutes later, a well-dressed and fully-caffeinated Minghao stepped out of the elevator, followed closely by Jeonghan. Equipped with masks and hats, the two discreetly made their way to the car and soon sped away to their destination.

“So, where are we going Jeonghan-hyung?” Minghao asked once he was in the car. 

“We’ll be going to this place that is specialized in massages~!” Jeonghan explained as he shoved his ipad towards Minghao. The Ipad’s tab was opened to show a massage therapists’ home page. “I checked their reviews online and they seemed good. I called them yesterday and they said that they do provide massages that could help with back pain. I thought that we should go check the place out together! Lucky for us, it’s not too far from our dorm.”

Minghao blinked in surprise. “You did this? You researched plus, you _woke up early_ and _willingly_ on a _Sunday_ , for me?! Wow, I totally didn’t expect this from you...I can’t believe you actually woke up willingly...”

Jeonghan pouted at Minghao. “Wonwoo is the one with a sloth as a nickname. But why does all of my dongsaengs keeps making fun of my love for sleeping?”

Minghao rolled his eyes.

“That’s cause Wonwoo-hyung moves slowly and lazily after practice sessions but he has normal amount of sleep. This is why he is a sloth. But Jeonghan-hyung sleeps at every opportunity. We can see that you really like to sleep! Or maybe you just doesn’t like to move at all. That’s why it's different from Wonwoo-hyung and why I am so surprised by your actions right now!”

Jeonghan laughed and seemed not at all bothered by Minghao’s outburst. 

“Well that’s true I guess. I don’t like to move. But don’t be so surprised Hao. You should know that I would willingly give up sleeping, for any of your sakes. The twelve of you mean alot to me y’know.” Jeonghan said solemnly, before smiling and ruffling Minghao’s hair.

“That being said, I just realised that we still have about 15 minutes before we reach the destination. So Imma go take a nap! Wake me up when we reach okay? Thanks haohao~”. Said Jeonghan with a wink. 

Before Minghao could even respond, the said hyung closed his eyes and promptly fell asleep. Minghao stared incredulously at his hyung’s (angelic) sleeping face. Did his “evil” hyung really just made a sweet, heart-warming revelation to him, or did Minghao just dreamed up the whole thing? He pinched his cheeks just to make sure he wasn’t dreaming. He smiled when his cheeks hurt. He then snap a picture of a sleeping Jeonghan and sent it to Seungcheol-hyung. After that, Minghao settled in and waited for the car to reach its destination. 

When they arrived, it was to a pristine and professional-looking clinic. Minghao was surprised, as he was expecting dimly lit rooms and shared massage rooms, which was a common look for Chinese massage centres. This place was beyond his expectation and (probably) also beyond his budget. He turned to ask his hyung if they could actually afford this place. But before he could speak, he was immediately taken to an exclusive massage room, leaving Jeonghan to wait in the lobby.

After an hour of comfortable massages mixed with some chiropractic therapy, Minghao was then led back to the receptionist area, where he found Jeonghan fiddling with his phone, on the sofa located across the receptionist’s desk.

“Hey~! How was the massage Haohao?” Jeonghan inquired as he waved him over to sit at the sofa.

“It was good hyung! Better than what I expected. These people are pros! You should have tried it too, hyung. They said that these massages relaxes your muscles and helped with your circulation.” Minghao babbled in excitement. His body did felt much better. 

“Let me pay for today. I will also pay for your massage session, the next time we come here hyung!” Minghao offered quickly. This place seemed expensive and Minghao couldn't possibly let his senior pay for his expenses. He was already very grateful to Jeonghan for introducing and accompanying him to this place . 

“Aaw, thanks! But you keep your money Minghao, cause I’m keeping mine too.” Jeonghan replied mischievously.

“Huh? Then who is paying for all this…?”

At that, Jeonghan proudly whipped out a wallet...that was clearly not his. It was too tattered and too old-looking to be his hyung’s wallet. With horrified fascination, Minghao watched as his hyung slowly took out a credit card from the said wallet. It was a normal credit card but the name on that card belonged to...Pledis’ CEO?!

“OMG, WAIT. WHAT. Hyung! How did you get that?! Is that CEO-nim’s wallet? How on earth-? Please tell me you didn’t steal it…”

Jeonghan looked half amused and half offended at his accusation.

“Rude! Of course I didn’t steal it! CEO-nim kindly _LENT_ it to me. I told him that I would bring you to this place. After a little... _discussion_ , he said that he would pay for this trip. He’ll also pay for the back-pain massage package, that I just signed you up for! Its’ four-sessions per month, so you’ll be coming here approximately once a week.”

Minghao could only gape as his hyung sauntered unabashedly to the counter and paid for today's massage and the massage package, using his _CEO’s card_. Unbelievable. Minghao wondered if he should write a thank you letter, or an apology letter to CEO-nim. Maybe both. But for now, Minghao knew what he had to say to Jeonghan.

“Thank you hyung. I appreciate the trip today. And also everything else that you did for me. I'm happy to know that you are looking out for me too."

Jeonghan opened his mouth to reply, but Minghao continued on. That wasn't all that he had to say to this hyung.

"I also want to say that I’m really glad to have you as my hyung. Like seriously. Thank you so much for being my hyung and for always staying by my side, because honestly, I _really, really do not want to be your enemy_.”

Jeonghan stared at him before breaking into a kind smile. “Aww, that is so sweet!!! No worries, I love you too Haohao~! I’m on your side, no matter what happens! Well, unless you annoy me, then maybe I’ll prank you for a bit but no hard feelings yes? Good, now let’s go back home, shall we?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So it's Jeonghan Eomma's chapter~ I love how Jeonghan could be cunning sometimes and decided to write it out lols. Hope you enjoyed it! I try to make all the characters as close to their IRL characters as possible...I hope they are not too OOC...(I'm Sorry if they do! TvT). Kudos & Comments are greatly appreciated! Tks for reading~


	5. Don't Worry...My Wallet Is Safe!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hehehe~I'm trying to constantly upload 2 chapters on the same day! I'll try to keep this up:) As usual, pls pardon my mistakes & tell me if I made any glaring mistakes, so I could fix them asap! I hope u enjoyed the stories so far!:)

The problem with 13-people group, was the fact that there were 13 of them. As usual, chaos descended on Seventeen’s dorm, when it was time for them to leave for their Fansign event.

“Did anyone see my Harry Potter socks?!”

“It’s under your humidifier Seokmin! And did anyone see my BABY’s gloves?! He needs it! He gets cold easily!”

“I found it hyung! And for the umpteenth time, I’M NOT YOUR BABY. STOP TREATING ME LIKE ONE!”

“Wonwoo, I don’t think you should bring that many books with you. Won’t it be heavy?”

“I don't wanna hear that from you, Hyung. Your bible is at least as heavy, as three of my books combined together. And yet, you’re still carrying it around?"

“Hansol, did you ate my specially bought Chinese snacks? I was saving it for later!”

“Huh? Did you call me Jun-hyung?"

“OMG. Yes he did! One day, I will burn those headphones Hansol-ah!”

“Woah, Seungkwan’s aggressive today! Calm down, calm down~”

“Mingyu, stop blocking the doorway!”

“He can’t see you Jihoonie~ You are too small and cute!’

“Hi, I’m Xu Minghao, currently bringing you a live footage of Lee Jihoon’s 66th attempted murder of Kwon Soonyoung...Will he succeed this time? To be continued.”

“THAT’S ENOUGH. EVERYBODY. OUT. NOW!”

And just like that, all 12 boys were herded out of their dorm by their leader. Minghao hurried along. He was glad that he could participate in today’s mini fansign event, even though he was only allowed to participate for the first half of it. His green Kermit would replace him on the second half of the event.

Soon enough, three cars entered the parking lot and Seventeen divided themselves to fit into those cars. Minghao was about to climb into one when someone stopped him.

“Minghao-yah, come with me. You’ll be riding in the other car.” Seungcheol declared, as he pointed toward the car behind Minghao’s current car. 

“Huh? Aren’t these cars all the same hyung?” Minghao replied in confusion. They were told that all of their cars, were of the exact same brand and size. And Seungcheol never cared which car they got into, as long as they don’t kill each other, and safely arrived to their destination. 

“Just go. You’ll see why, once you are inside. And Jun, stop the puppy-eye look. You can go ride in that car too. The rest of you just go. We’ll be right behind you. See you at the Fansign!” Seungcheol waved off the rest of them, before securing his backpack and making his way to the last car. Minghao and Jun trailed behind him.

Once they opened the door, Minghao understood why his hyung had insisted for him to be in this car. The interior of the car looks the same however, the car seat on the far left had a posture cushion on it. A back support had also been strapped in and secured tightly onto the said car seat. 

“Woah. Thank you hyung! This was very thoughtful of you. When did you arrange this?” Minghao asked, impressed with his leader’s efficiency. 

“I made a few calls yesterday. I’m happy that you’ll be joining us today, but make sure you take care of yourself while you are out there, okay?” 

Minghao nodded quickly, causing his leader to smile. 

“Ok, climb in you two. I’ll sit in front with manager-nim. Now let's and meet our Carats!”

The atmosphere at the Fansign, was as exciting as ever and all of the members were enjoying it. Seventeen understood that they wouldn't be where they are right now, if it wasn't for their fans’ supports. It was nice to be able to talk and personally thank Carats for their constant support. Minghao was so happily distracted by Carats, that he only noticed it when it was time for him to leave the stage. 

As he reluctantly followed manager-nim to the back of the stage, Minghao glanced back one last time to look at their fans. It was then that he noticed, that his chair was the only one that was comfortably padded, and equipped with another back support. All the other members had been sitting on the typical foldable chairs. Curious, he asked his manager.

“Oh yeah. Scoups called me once and texted me like, three times to make sure that we prepared the chair for you. Of course I agreed. We all wish for your speedy recovery. Oh, we’re here. Please rest in this room. We’ll be here for another hour.”

Minghao made a mental reminder to thank his hyung later, before entering the said waiting room. His manager continued chatting.

“Scoups wanted this room because as you can see, the sofa is a pull out bed. Since the doctor told you not to sit in long periods of time, please use the bed to straighten your spine and such. We have padded it with mattresses and pillows. We also have- Wait a minute. Why is the sofa bed still so flimsy? Staff! I asked for a harder padding for the bed! Are there firmer paddings here?!”

“Uh, I’m okay with what they have prepared, manager-nim…this is totally fine!”

“No, no. Soft beds are bad for back pains, while firmer beds are better. I need more, harder paddings for the bed over here! Staffs!!!”

“Uh, what’s going on?” 

Minghao thanked every Chinese and Korean deities that he knew, when he saw Seungcheol peered in from the doorway. Hopefully his hyung could calm their manager down.

“Scoups! What are you doing here?”

“I’m on a quick bathroom break. Going back on stage soon. Everything ok Minghao? Do you need me to call for staffs Manager-nim?” He asked, looking puzzledly between Minghao and the manager.

“Yes, I want to talk to the staffs! Like what you suggested, we tried to prepare a firmer bed but this thing is what they gave me...I need to request more solid paddings for the bed. I’m not letting any of my idol sleep on this!”

“Hyung, I’ll be fine. Its no big deal. Please calm manager-nim down! I don’t want to trouble the staff members...” Minghao whispered furiously to his hyung. 

“It’s cool. I got this Minghao. Ahem, manager-nim? I believe that I may have the solution. Wait here please.” with that, his hyung quickly ran out of the room. A few minutes later, he was back with his backpack on hand.

“I’m so glad that I decided to bring this with me today...Here it is.” Seungcheol said as he opened his backpack and took out a...roll of yoga mat? 

“Uh. What is that hyung?”

“This is an Acupressure mat and it's big enough for 1 person. Seokmin bought it for you during their shopping spree yesterday. I told Joshua to bag all the portable purchases and put it in our car. Then I picked a couple of stuffs I deemed useful and crammed it in the backpack. You can use this right, manager-nim?”

“Hmm, I heard that acupressure is good for back pain...It’s rather sturdy too...Ok. let’s use this for now, I’ll set it up on the sofa-bed. Thank you Scoups!” their manager nodded gratefully.

Seungcheol gave two thumbs up as the manager went to set up the mat. Minghao stared disbelievingly at his leader.

“Hyung, you mean that you’ve been carrying these stuffs inside your backpack, all day long?!”

Seungcheol blinked and shrugged nonchalantly.

“Yes? I was worried that some locations won’t be able to provide the necessary amenities for your back. I wanted to make sure that your condition didn’t get worse while you are out working. And since the BooSeokSoo trio bought you so many stuffs yesterday...I thought that we should use them. So I packed it and carried it with me.”

Minghao continued to stare disbelievingly at his leader.

“But hyung...Isn’t it heavy. And you also carry this...what’s this? Back support belt with suspenders? Another cushion? And pain killers? Wha- all of these are for me? You didn’t have to hyung...and what happen to your own belongings?”

Seungcheol offered his distress dongsaeng a kind smile.

“Yes, all of these are for you to use. So any time your back feels uncomfortable, come find me or manager-nim. We have more of these stuffs packed up in the car! Feel free to use them. Its no big deal Minghao, stop looking at me like that! I’m just looking after my boys, like usual. Taking care of you guys is difficult but I never see it as a burden. Don’t worry. Leave everything to us and just focus on healing yourself, yeah?”

Minghao absolutely did not teared up. He’s a respectable and a fully-grown adult. He had his pride, dang it! But when his leader gave him a charming grin and opened his arms for a hug, Minghao couldn’t stop himself from stepping into his hyungs’ embrace. There goes his pride, but Minghao didn’t regret it. Especially not when Seungcheol gave a happy chuckle.

“Thank you hyung. For arranging everything. And for always looking after all of us.”

“No problem Minghao. But I honestly think that we all look out for one another y’know? Like, Jeonghan’s looking after my belongings while I was carrying those stuffs in my backpack. And I know that Mingyu sometimes carries Joshua’s bible or Wonwoo’s books in his bag. Or sometimes when Jun brought extra Jackets and scarves with him, just in case someone gets cold? It shows that we all help one another.”

Minghao nodded silently. For the umpteenth time, he felt truly blessed to be part of this group. He was about to thank his hyung again when he realized something. He lifted his head and stared at Seungcheol in horror.

“Wait hyung. You left your _wallet_ to Jeonghan-hyung?!”

His leader’s lips quirked up in amusement.

“I’m not dumb Minghao. Of course I didn’t leave it with Jeonghan! I asked Jeonghan to carry all my belongings, _except_ for my wallet. My wallet is safe with Joshua. See? This is _exactly_ what I meant when I said that we all look out for one another!”

Seungcheol looked so proud of his own explanation that Minghao just lost it. He snorted and that somehow turned into a full-blown laughter. Everybody in his group is weird, he decided. And for some strange reason, Minghao wouldn’t want it any other way.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After Jeonghan, it's time for Scoups! And yes, I LOVE PAPA SCOUPS. I love it when the older members (esp 95 liners), takes care of the other younglings. I especially love it when Scoups behave like a dad, and like a soft, cuddly teddy bear (which he totally is IRL). So yeah. Hug scene. I need more cuddly Scoups. For the other members, I hope it was clear who says what. I also hope that they are not too OOC & If they r, I'm sorry! I'll try to improve it! Again, Kudos & Comments are greatly appreciated! Tks for reading~:)


	6. I'm angry at you!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry about the late updates. I wasn't home for the holidays so It was difficult to write & post stuffs. But any ways here's an update! Can you guess who will dote on Minghao today???:D Once again, this is unbetaed so pls pardon my mistakes. Comments & Kudos r greatly appreciated! Special Thanks to those who Commented! Your Comments encourages me to keep writing:) So here's the next chapter, hope you guys enjoy it~!

Nothing could beat a relaxing hot bath after a long day out. After the fansign event, Seventeen went out to eat dinner, before coming back to their dorm. They then took turn to use the bathroom to wash up and bathe. Minghao volunteered to go last because he was sure that his friends were more tired than him. After all, he only did half a day’s worth of activities, while the rest worked for the entire time. 

When Minghao finally left the bathroom, he found that most of the members were all doing their own activities around their dorm. Minghao decided to go to the living room and flopped down on the sofa, where Wonwoo, Jun and Joshua were already sitting. Suddenly, Wonwoo stood up from his seat and started looking around the room. He then turned and asked Minghao.

“Are you the last one to bathe Hao?” When Minghao nodded, Wonwoo continued. “Good. Can you guys call the others to the living room? I have something I want to say to everybody.”

The three male exchanged confused looks but went to gather the others, as per Wonwoo’s request. It was an unusual request, as the quiet hyung rarely asked for the entire group to gather. Minghao knew that if Wonwoo had something to say to them, his hyung would rather informed each members individually, or in smaller groups. To call the entire group like this...Minghao wondered what exactly Wonwoo-hyung had to say.

“Is that everyone?” Wonwoo asked as he made his way to the front of the group. Beside him, Seungcheol started counting.

“11, 12...We’re missing one more...who is- oh. MINGYU-YAH!!! Get your ass here! Wonwoo’s calling a meeting!!!”

“Coming hyung!” was the reply they got. A minute later, Mingyu darted out of the kitchen and into the living room. He was carrying a bowl of popcorn, which he sets onto the coffee table, before settling down on the floor. The others were already sitting comfortably on the sofas or on the floor.

“Okay. Thanks for gathering guys. I’m just gonna go straight to the point. As you know, Minghao is having problems with his back. And so, I’ve been reading articles and books relating to back pains. Things like; what causes it, how to prevent it, how to reduce the pain and so on. Seungcheol-hyung said that I should share what I know with you guys, so that everyone will know what to do and what not to do, to help Mingahao. What do you guys think?”

Murmurs of approval echoed around the room.

“Good Idea Won! I tried searching it up online on my own but...there’s too many advertisements! And I don’t know which info is reliable and which is not. It was so confusing and kinda unreliable!” Jun explained as he easily agreed to Wonwoo’s suggestion.

“I didn’t have a lot of time to read up on things like that, even though I really wanted to. So if you are making a summary for us, I think it would really be convenient and useful. I agree.” Jihoon replied earnestly.

Wonwoo nodded and was about to reply when he was interrupted by Minghao.

“Guys, I’m fine, really! If anything happens, we can just ask the doctor. You don’t have to go through all that trouble for me!" Minghao protested quickly. "I know that we are all very busy. This is not that important. We should use this time to practice for our performances and songs instead! Especially now that we are in the middle of promoting our 2nd album.” He concluded stubbornly. Minghao didn’t want to divert the team’s focus away from their work. Especially not now, when they had to promote their new album and prepare for various comeback performances. It was only logical to prioritize their work first.

Unfortunately, his logic was not shared by everyone elses. Wonwoo narrowed his eyes at Minghao. The calm air around the bespectacled hyung changed and everyone instantly knew that Wonwoo was angry. 

“ _If anything happens, we can just ask the doctor?_ I want to make sure that nothing happens in the first place, Minghao. And how fast can we bring you to the doctor anyway? What if it is too late to go to the doctor? What if it gets worse by that time? Xu Minghao, you are an Idol and one of our best dancers. Your health is a priority to all of us and to our Carats. I suggest that you start making it _your priority_ as well because from what I've been seeing, health is not on your priority list.”

Wonwoo never raised his voice but to Minghao, it felt as if his hyung was screaming at him. Each words jarred him, making him feel small and guilty, because it was true. From the very start, Minghao was more worried about the troubles he was causing the team, the producers and the fans, rather than his own health. When his back first started hurting, Minghao kept it a secret because he didn't want to trouble anyone. His inaction caused the pain to get worse and worse until he could no longer bear it. No wonder Wonwoo-hyung was mad at him. His hyung was worried that Minghao would continue to shut everyone out and repeat the cycle again.

Minghao could only bow his head in shame. The other members stayed quiet and watched what was happening in front of them with baited breath. Wonwoo seemed to take that as permission to continue. And as usual, when he was angry, Wonwoo’s voice went an octave lower.

“And what’s with that, _you don’t have to go through all that trouble just for me?_ And are you seriously telling me that, _this is not that important?!_ Minghao, stop treating this lightly. Get this right: you are IMPORTANT to us. Like I said, as a member of Seventeen, you are one of our best dancer. But besides that, you are also our FAMILY. If you get sick, of course we worry about you! Of course we want to help you! Stop selling yourself short. How is it still not clear that you are important to all of us?! We want to help you Minghao and it's high time that you let us help you.” Wonwoo clicked his tongue in annoyance and looked away. He had been so, very worried for Minghao and seeing all of his worries being brushed away just like that, pissed Wonwoo off.

The silence in the room stretched on and on, until someone cleared his throat.

“Ahem. Well, I- uh, I just want to say that I totally agree with what Wonwoo-hyung said.” Mingyu softly spoke up from his seat. 

Everyone turned towards Mingyu, expecting him to speak more or explain himself. But the black-haired boy went to munch on the popcorn and looked confusedly around when he realized that everybody else was watching him. A few minutes later, Seungkwan exploded.

“IS THAT IT??!! Hyung, you just interrupted one of Wonwoo-hyung’s most emotional monologue, ever, JUST TO SAY THAT??! HUH??!! ARE YOU KIDDING ME??!! KIMBAP KIDDING??!!”

“Pfft-! Calm down Seungkwan-ah. D-don’t say anything anymore…I’m...trying not to laugh here…” Hansol said as he tried to suppress his laughter and calm Seungkwan down.

“Wha-Don’t laugh Hansol! And I didn’t interrupt anything! He finished saying what he wanted to say! Wonwoo-hyung always looks at you when he is talking. He only looks away when he is done talking! Didn't you guys know that??!” Mingyu asked and flailed his hands around as he tried to explain himself.

"Well, now I know that you are paying real close attention to Wonwoo. But honestly Mingyu...Pfft- I was also expecting you to say something more.” Joshua commented as he tried and failed to hide his smile behind his jacket sleeve.

“Not you too, Shua-hyung? But I everything I wanted to say, Wonwoo-hyung said it already! That why I quickly said that I agree with him! You guys know that I’m not good with words!”

“Mingyu-ah. I think we need to teach you how to read the atmosphere a little bit...” Jeonghan sighed sadly, but his eyes were twinkling with mirth.

“Are you sure? I don’t think he’ll understand it, hyung.” Jihoon added dryly. Sure enough, everyone burst out laughing at the indignant ‘Hey!’ from Mingyu. Even Wonwoo let out an amused chuckle. Minghao felt himself relaxed as the atmosphere returned cheerful once again.

“Jokes aside, like what Mingyu said, I also agree with Wonwoo. Minghao, please stop hiding your pain and tell us when you are hurting, Okay? Please let us help you.” Jun said gently to his Chinese junior. 

Minghao studied all of his friends for a minute and nodded shyly.

“Yeah, ok...Thank you guys. I’m sorry for hiding my back pain before. I’ll make sure to prioritize my health from now on. And I’m so sorry Wonwoo-hyung...I promise I won’t do it again. Please forgive me…?”

Wonwoo studied the Chinese boy sitting in front of him. He wanted to stay mad for a while longer but there’s no way he could, especially not when Minghao is giving him the puppy-eyed look. Did he learned it from Mingyu? Cause as far as Wonwoo’s concerned, Mingyu gave the deadliest puppy-eyed look out of them all. Mingyu could always get the members to agree with his childish demands whenever he had that look. But the point is, Minghao only learned from the best and so, there was no way Wonwoo would stand a chance against Minghao's puppy-eyed look.

“...Fine. Yes, okay. I forgive you Minghao. But make sure that you don’t hide the important things from us again alright? Especially if it's about your health.”

“Yes Hyung! Thank You so much!”

All of his dongsaengs will be the cause of his death one day. No wait, the same could also be said for his hyungs. Wonwoo sighed and shook his head. 

“Okay, since we don’t have anymore objections, let’s start the lecture. Yes, I'm calling it a lecture because I do have a powerpoint presentation. It’s simple but it should be enough. Feel free to take notes if you want.”

“LOLs Yes Professor Jeon. By the way, since when did you became an expert in back pain, huh?” Soonyoung asked cheekily.

Wonwoo raised his eyebrow. “Since last night, when I finished reading these books.” Three bulky medical books were placed in front of Soonyoung. “I know it’s not much but I didn’t have a lot of time.” Wonwoo shrugged apologetically.

“Uh, wow, no. I’m sure that those are enough Wonwoo. Are these why you’ve been waking up early and reading more often lately?” Jun asked in awe while poking at those thick books. Soonyoung joined him in poking the books.

“Yes I did. Now let’s quickly begin. We need to be done by midnight and we have a lot to cover. I hope you guys are ready.” Wonwoo said as he adjusted his glasses and smirked evilly at his audience. 

“Uh, guys? I think I’m already regretting this…” Mingyu gulped in fear. Several other members nodded at Mingyu’s remark, including Minghao. Tonight’s gonna be a long night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who doted on Minghao today? its Wonwoo~! XD Granted, he scolded Minghao but eh, he loves him too that's why he was angry at him. I really like angry Wonwoo & I like silly Mingyu...so that's why I decided to write it like this. There's a bit of Meanie too if you squint? Kinda? But I think there's a lot more WonHao? Is it counted as WonHao? I dunno, I just ship them all. And yes, I love Sungkwan's Kimbap Kidding line. Anyways, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I also hope that none was too OOC...Anyways, Pls look forward the next one!:)


	7. I'm angry FOR you.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again~ Yes, here is another chapter! I realized that I keep writing longer and longer chapters...This was supposed to be a short fanfic...How did I end up with so many words..? Anyways, there'll be cursing in this chapter! Not much but I just want to warn the readers. Once again, this is unbetaed so pls pardon my mistakes...Comments & Kudos r greatly appreciated!!!:) I hope you enjoyed this chapter~

The next day was a busy day for Seventeen. In the morning, they attended an award rehearsal. And now, they found themselves, exhausted, hungry and on the way to their next destination, a recording studio. 

Thankfully, their manager promised to treat them some fried chickens. But to maximize their time, Seventeen separated into small groups. Jun, Wonwoo and Mingyu went with their manager to order and wait for the chicken delivery. The leaders were called in to record Change Up, and Dino tagged along to watch. Meanwhile, Jeonghan and Seungkwan decided to re-listen to the Pinwheel recording that they did before the Leader’s turn. That left Joshua, Minghao, Seokmin and Hansol with some free time. They decided to spend their time by resting in their waiting room.

The quartet relaxed once they arrived in the said room. Seokmin dived headfirst into one of the bean bag chairs, while Hansol immediately opened one of the cola can that was on the table. Minghao was about to sit, when he froze. He looked around the room to confirm and wondered if he should speak up. After all, he did promise to take better care of himself. Still, he hesitated.

Luckily for him, someone noticed it too.

“Oh, all of the chairs in this room are folding chairs. They did gave us three bean bag chairs but that’s not good for your back either, right? As I recall from Wonwoo’s lecture, sturdier surfaces are better for your back.” Joshua concluded and looked at Minghao expectedly.

Minghao, grimaced but nodded his head. As embarrassing as it is, Minghao couldn’t sit anywhere in the waiting room, because his back would start hurting if he sat on any of those chairs. None of the chairs provided were suitable for his back pain. 

Joshua nodded in understanding and went to call a staff, while Hansol and Seokmin kept Minghao company. Soon, Joshua came back with two other staff members. The lady had a “Staff Organizer” nametag on her, while the middle-aged man, had a name tag labeled as “Staff”. 

“Did our manager told you guys that one of us is currently suffering from back pain? Yeah? That’s wonderful. However, as you can see, the chairs in this room aren’t suitable for people with back pain. All of the chairs here are folding chairs with no back support. And those bean bags are really bad for your spine. Therefore...could you get us another chair? One with a back support, please.” Joshua ended his explanation with a sweet, expectant smile.

The female staff who standing the closest to Joshua, paled and nodded her head vigorously.

“Yes, Of Course! Please pardon our lack of hospitality! As our guest artists, your comfort is our priority. We’ll quickly get you another chair. I'm truly sorry for any inconveniences caused. If you have any more requests, please come and find me!” She bowed and apologized sweetly but sincerely to Joshua and Minghao.

The lady then turned around to face the staff member and her face did a total 360. She looked ready to stab the male staff. She beckoned the male staff to follow her out of the room. However in her hurry, she did not close the door. The four boys could hear the scolding that took place after that.

“Didn’t I informed you guys about this matter already? You said that you wanted more responsibility, so I left you in charge of preparing this waiting room didn’t I? So why are you giving them those crappy chairs HUH??!!” 

“I’m sorry Ms Park but I-”

“Save your excuses! This is _your_ oversight! Now don’t just stand there, _go get another chair!_ ”

“Tsk. But they are just-”

“Yah, you wanna die punk? Do you not know how the entertainment world works HUH?! If they complain, our company’s reputation will _suffer._ That’s why we always treat our artists fairly and with respect. And it’s not like they wanted world peace! They just want a good chair. Now, GO GET THAT CHAIR ALREADY!”

That was followed by the sound of people walking and stomping away in anger.

Hansol broke the silence in the room. “Wow, I can totally hear everything. I’m just gonna close this so we don't accidentally hear more weird things...” He moved and closed the door.

“Well that was awkward...and scary! I sure don’t wanna make that lady angry...Coke anyone?” Seokmin asked as he waved a can of coke in the direction of Joshua and Minghao.

“Thanks Seokmin. I feel kinda bad for the guy though...” Minghao commented as he took the coke offered. 

“Yeah, I wasn’t expecting such a fierce scolding. She looked like a really kind lady...Ah, thank you Seokmin.” Joshua added and accepted the said drink from his dongsaeng.

“I heard that it’s always the kind-looking ones that are scary, hyung! Like they could go from this…” Seokmin smiled sweetly, “...to this.” he covered his face with his hands and removed them when he had arranged his face to an angry looking one. 

That somehow started a competition of who could make two polarizing faces, in quick succession and that ended up with them laughing and goofing around like usual. Thus, they accidentally missed the first knock on the door. It was only a minute later, that they heard the second, furious knocks on the door. Hansol quickly went over and opened the door. The same male staff from before, stood in front of the door. He was carrying a heavy-looking lounge chair and he looked pissed. Hansol wisely moved out of the way and let him into the room. 

The displeased staff looked around angrily and asked the now silent room, “This chair is for The8. Which one of you is him?”

Minghao cautiously raised his hand.

The man carried the lounge chair in and set it near Minghao. Minghao moved closer in attempt to help but stopped when the staff glared at him.

“...back pain my ass. You don’t even sing or dance properly and you claim that you have a back pain? Stop being cocky, brat. And what kind of crappy name is The8? Honestly, you are just some third-rate artist with no talent.” he muttered poisonously under his breath. 

Hansol, who was still hanging near the door, showed no indication that he had heard what the staff just said. However, Joshua and Seokmin who were standing next to Minghao, had heard the insult.

Minghao stiffened when he heard the insult. He felt angry, of course, but at the same time, the comment triggered his sense of self-doubt. Minghao is a confident person. However, like everyone else, he also had bad days where his confidence level would hit rock-bottom and he would start doubting his accomplishments. That insult suddenly plunged Minghao into his negative headspace and he froze, unsure of what his next step should be.

But before he could say anything, another voice cuts the silence. 

“ _Excuse me?_ What did you just say?!” 

The voice sounded so mad but controlled, as if all the hatred and anger were bundled up into a bag that will explode into a raging snow storm if touched. Minghao could hardly believe his eyes when the owner of the voice stepped forward.

Joshua stood in between Minghao and the male staff, as if he was shielding Minghao from the man’s angry gaze. Joshua’s face was calm and oddly blank but his eyes were blazing with cold anger and disgust.

“You, sir, have no right to insult my friend like that. You have no idea what he sacrificed or how hard he worked, to be where he is right now. You have no idea how talented and accomplished he is. Your comment was inaccurate, insensitive and provocative. Please take back your words and apologize to my friend.” Joshua demanded. Though his face was neutral, his voice was icy cold.

The male staff glared at Joshua.

“Is that how you treat you elder? Young people have no manners these days!”

Joshua stared at the man in front of him as if he was trash.

“Sorry, but I treat my elders with the respect that they deserve. Seeing that you have failed to show even an inch of respect to my friend here, I don’t see why I should treat you with respect. Clearly, you don’t deserve it.”

“You fucking brat!” The man roared and grabbed Joshua by his jacket collar.

The action sprung them into action. Hansol’s and Seokmin’s hand was suddenly there to stop the man from shoving Joshua backwards. Behind Joshua, Minghao stood straighter and gave his best threatening i’ll-kill-you glare at the man. He might have been slightly afraid a few minutes ago, but if this man hurt his Joshua-hyung, Minghao will not hesitate to break some bones.

In the middle of all this, Joshua was as impassive as ever. Though he was clearly dwarfed by the male staff, the Korean American boy looked unimpressed and almost bored.

“I would like to remind you, that there are 3 working cameras in this room right now. Are you really going to hit me?” 

The man growled at the peach-haired male, and then glared at the rest of them. Slowly and with obvious reluctance, he released Joshua’s collar. However, he made no indication to move away, causing both Hansol and Seokmin to nervously hover around Joshua.

Joshua just huffed in annoyance and smoothed his crumpled jacket. To everyone’s surprise, he then take a small step forward and started to straighten the staff’s clothes too.

“A wise choice. Punching me will get you fired immediately, no question asked. And believe me when I say that none of us wanted that. Now, I am willing to put all this behind us if you would just apologize to my friend. What you did was not right.” Joshua insisted once again. His gaze never wavered from the male staff’s face.

The man locked eyes with Joshua and frowned. He looked as if he was going to start insulting Joshua again. However, to everyone's surprise, the man simply took a step back and exhaled loudly. 

He glared at Minghao again, but this time, he did so with a lot less hostility. “...I’m sorry boy. I shouldn’t have said that to you. That was...a bit rude of me.”

Minghao blinked back in surprise. That was unexpected. It really wasn't much but it was still an apology. “Uh, yeah. Okay? I mean, apology accepted. Just...please don’t do it again?”

The man sighed again. Now he just looked old, sad and tired. But he nodded to Minghao. He then glanced wearily at Joshua. The cold anger was replaced by Joshua's usual, charming smile.

“Thank you, I appreciate that. As promised, we won’t say anything to our manager or your boss.” Joshua’s tone then turned sympathetic. “You may be going through a rough patch in your life now, but it’s never okay to blame it on another person. If you have troubles, you should confide it to someone else. Bottling up your emotions like that is bad for you...”

Five minutes and half a dozen of advices later, the male staff left their waiting room in a better mood. He was bowing and waving the name card of the church that Joshua had given him. Joshua smiled and calmly waved back at the man, before closing the door. He turned back to face his dongsaengs and found that all three of them were staring at him with their mouth hanging open. He ignored the other two and went to Minghao.

“Are you okay Minghao? I know he hurt you feelings but please don’t take it seriously okay? The poor man didn’t mean what he said. You are talented and your performances are always top-notch. You are also very hard working and we are all lucky to have you in the group.” 

“Uh, hyung. I think that I’m the lucky one here. Thank you for standing up for me.”

Joshua waved his thanks away. “Don’t mention it, Minghao. I’m just doing what should have been done.”

Minghao raised his eyebrows. “Including the part where you console the angry dude and invited him to join your church?”

Joshua poked Minghao's cheeks good-naturedly. “Yes? Well, he looks like he needs help too. I’m glad that he accepted my invitation.”

Before Minghao could respond to that, both him and Joshua was enveloped by a hug from Seokmin. “Holy Horseshoes. I was so scared for the both of you!!! At one point, I was ready to scream for Scoups-hyung to come and save us! You guys are okay right?” Seokmin blabbered as he gave Joshua and Minghao another once-over to make sure that they were indeed, unarmed.

“Omg, did that really just happened?” Hansol said slowly. His voice quivered in admiration. “Did Shua-hyung just slayed the angry dude in a battle of words? That was AWESOME hyung! And I didn’t know that you had such a cold side. It was terrifying! I wish I had it recorded!” 

Minghao and Seokmin nodded in agreement. Both looked at Joshua with awe in their eyes.

Joshua just looked at them amusedly. “It's my duty as a hyung to help and protect my cute little dongsaengs.” he replied warmly. 

However, his voice suddenly turned darker when he continued. Joshua was still smiling but he looked ready to _kill_. “Nobody, and I mean _NOBODY_ , will ever harm my dongsaengs and get away with it, as long as I’m around.”

The peach-haired hyung then gave each of them a pat on their head and walked away to set up the chair for Minghao. Meanwhile, the dongsaeng trio looked at one another with wide surprised eyes. The three of them continued to stand in shocked silence until Seokmin shook his head in mock-despair. 

“See? I told you guys. It's always the kind-looking ones that are the scariest!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, it's Joshua's turn to dote on Minghao today~!XD I feel like as someone from LA, Joshua actually has a lot of badassery that is (kinda) hidden behind his pretty boy image. So, I thought that it'll be cool to write about an angry josh! This is how I imagined him when he is angry: Cold & Intense but still polite and logical. I also love the Jisoo Christ meme so thats y I included the church thingy at the end XD Hope you liked it! Again, I hope none was too OOC...Pls look forward the next few chapters! 4 more Chapters till the end~


	8. You Are Not Alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi guys! Sorry for the long absence. Between work and Director's cut I didn't have a lot of time to write (Ｔ▽Ｔ). Anyways, here's the next Chapter! Guess who will help Minghao today??:) Hint: There's quite a lot of cursing in this chapter(^▽^;) Anyways, this is unbetaed so I'm sorry for any glaring mistake I might hv made. Thank you for all the Kudos & comments! I appreciate it:)

Minghao felt eyes on him again. As much as he 'appreciated' their feelings, he wanted it to stop. Because currently, he felt suffocated by it. He hated being pitied.

Uh-oh, he could hear footsteps walking towards him. Minghao made his decision and bolted out of the room. He ran blindly and only stopped when he found himself in a long corridor.

Crap. He had picked the wrong place to ran to. This was the studio room area. People would occupy one of these studio rooms to write lyrics or practice, before their actual recording. It was a great area to be in, except that all the studio rooms are locked and so, there was no place for him to hide or escape to. The windows were not an option because he’s currently on the 3rd floor of the Pledis building. 

If Minghao continued forward, he would end up in the kitchen area, where the very people he wanted to avoid is likely to be there. He would turn back, but he could hear footsteps coming from the other end of the hallway. They were coming for him. So this is how Minghao will die...or how he’ll go to jail for murder because if somebody asked him that question again, he’ll-

“Minghao? What are you doing here?”

Minghao jolted in surprise and whirled around to face his inquisitor. Jihoon stood in the doorway of one of the studio room, just a few feet away from him. The two silently stared at each other before Jihoon frowned and waved his hand impatiently.

“Hello? Earth to Minghao? Minghao, are you oka-“

Jihoon barely stopped himself from screaming when Minghao suddenly moved in with a ninja-like agility and appeared right in front of him to cover his mouth.

“NO Hyung. Just. No. Why do people keep asking me if I’m okay or not?! Do I look not okay or something? I’m FUCKING FINE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH!” Minghao growled in frustration.

Jihoon just raised one of his eyebrows and folded his hands together as he waited for Minghao to compose himself and to remove his hand from Jihoon’s mouth. 

Once his mouth was free, Jihoon fired it away.

“Okay. Firstly, WTF?! And secondly, WTF is wrong with you?! Thirdly, Imma fucking bite off your fingers the next time you do that again. Are we clear?”

“Yes. Sorry hyung…I kinda lost my temper just now.” Minghao winced and rubbed his head sheepishly.

The shorter man huffed in agreement. But before either one of them could speak, loud chatting and laughter could be heard from the other end of the corridor. Minghao felt his body stiffen in reflex as his body entered flight mode. He needs to get away from here soon. Lucky for him, Jihoon didn’t miss the change in his dongsaeng’s body language. 

The older male just sighed before he pulled the younger male into the studio room that he rented for the day. He then silently locked the door. The two males stood in silence and waited until the footsteps and chatters of people, walked past their room. 

Once he was sure that it was clear, Minghao relaxed and looked around the room he was pulled into. As usual, the room was standardly equipped with sofa chairs with a coffee table, an office desk with computer and a matching office chair. He went over and sat on the office chair.

“So? What are you doing here Hao? Where are the rest of the team and why are you hiding from staff members?”

Minghao gulped in fear and slowly looked up to Jihoon’s piercing eyes. He better gave his hyung some answers because if not...there was a guitar case on the corner of the room and Minghao didn’t want to give Jihoon-hyung reasons to take the weapon out.

“After Jihoon-hyung left, we split into units and practice for the upcoming performances as planned. But Hoshi-hyung forbade me to dance Lilili Yabbay. Again.” Minghao unconsciously pouted. “So I decided to walk around the building alone and....here I am.”

“Wow, how specific.” Jihoon drawled sarcastically. Something or someone had clearly agitated Minghao. If it wasn’t caused by one of their members, then it must be quite serious. Jihoon needed to get to the bottom of this story. “Is that it? You’re not gonna elaborate?”

The Chinese man in front of him remained tight-lipped and avoided his questioning eyes. Jihoon clicked his tongue.

“...Tsk, fine, I won’t force you to tell me.”

“I...wait, I _don’t_ have to tell you?”

“Yes. _You_ don’t have to tell me. I’m just gonna go check the security cameras and ask the office. I’m sure someone else can explain it to me. Brb.”

Sure enough, Minghao shot up to tug him away from the door.

“Omg, are you serious. No hyung! Fine! Sit down and I’ll explain!”

Jihoon smirked smugly and sat on the edge of the table. He looked expectantly down at Minghao. The younger man groaned in defeat.

“Ugh. Seriously hyung? Fine...I’ll explain but don’t laugh okay? It’s...kinda stupid.”

“No promises. I’ll decide whether it’s funny or stupid _after_ I hear the entire story.”

Minghao muttered something in Chinese, but he dutifully began his explanation.

“It’s just- people keep asking me if I am okay or not. I appreciate their concerns but must they keep saying that they are sorry for me? Like I don’t need your pity, thanks. And EVERYONE is saying that to me! Our staff members...that Starbucks people that I passed by on the first floor...some of the new trainees whose name I don’t remember...and even the janitor! Did you know that I also received get well soon texts from the shareholders??? I didn’t even know that it was from them until Manager-nim told me!”

Jihoon hummed but remained quiet. He knew that it wasn’t over yet. Sure enough, after a brief hesitation, Minghao continued his rant.

“I just felt so...visible suddenly??? When we were trainees, none give a fuck to us. We get sick, we live in a really small dorm, we didn’t have enough toothpaste…none cares. And now, I’m slightly injured and suddenly the entire building knows? Even the shareholders? And get this - _they_ suddenly _care_ about me??? Like WTF? I can tell that some are sincere, but most of them are obviously faking it.”

“I don’t like all the attention I’m getting. It was bearable when I was healthy. But now that I’m sick and can’t participate with the group...Their stares felt more hostile and judging somehow. I’m just...sick and tired of their ‘pity’ and their judgments.” Minghao ended his tirade and slumped dejectedly on the table. 

“I’m a horrible human being.” He added a few seconds later.

Jihoon scoffed at his junior. “No Rapunzel, you are not. You’re a dramatic human being. But it’s fine. I think what you are feeling is quite normal.”

Minghao peered up in disbelief. “How is this normal?”

“Well for starters, I understand the feeling. You are not alone Hao, I felt it too. You have no idea how many people tried to curry for my favor. I’m not bragging about this. Like you, I also hate it when people are nice to me, only to gain something in return. But we live in a very superficial world Minghao, especially because we live in the entertainment industry. I think that at some point in time, we all will experience this feeling. I think other the hyungs went through this phase too.” 

Minghao groaned. “FML. Then how do you do it hyung…? Or like how did the others deal with these feelings? I honestly don’t know how should I act in front of those people...”

Jihoon hummed in contemplation. He tried to phrase it as sincerely as he could.

“I can’t speak for the others, but for me...I try not to worry about my image when I am with the group. I know that I can be myself when I am with all of you lame dorks. If I make mistakes or said something inappropriate, I know that one of you assholes will help me cover it up or help me correct it.”

“Wow hyung...I’m touched but also a little insulted.”

Jihoon ignored the comments and continued. “As for those who wanna suck up to you, or profit from you, my only advice, is to not give them a single fuck and just be yourself.”

Minghao raised his eyebrows in disbelief. But his hyung’s face was devoid of humor.

“I’m serious. You are pretty sharp Minghao, I know you can handle them. It’s those gullible idiots like Soonyoung, Mingyu or Seokmin that got me worried. Jun-hyung, Vernon, and Dino could be naive at times too. But not you. The fact that you are actually _aware_ of those who approach you with hidden intentions already gives you the upper hand in dealing with those type of people.”

Minghao lowered his head as he digested the advice in silence. The action exposed the top part of Minghao’s head and Jihoon couldn’t resist the temptation to ruffle his junior’s fluffy, long hair. At this rate, his dongsaeng will soon have a mullet.

“Be yourself and just do what you gotta do. Don’t be scared, because you have people who will back you up. I’m sure that all of your family in China will support you and of course, the 12 of us will as well. They might be dumb idiots for most of the times but I assure you -- we will not abandon one of our own. Do what you think is right and we will support and help you for sure.”

The reassurance that his members will support him no matter what happen, lifted a huge burden from his shoulders. Minghao felt as if he had a lump in his throat. He didn’t realize how much he wanted to hear those words until Jihoon said it to him.

“I...wow hyung. Really? What if I ended up murdering someone hyung? Will you still support me if I’m a murderer?”

Jihoon huffed at Minghao’s weak attempt at humor. But the elder chose not to comment on the younger’s wet eyes and instead, he answered the question.

“Yeah, I won’t care. Besides, I encourage violence. I’ll probably help you hide the body.” 

Minghao released a watery chuckle that Jihoon counted as a small victory on his part. He continued patting the blonde.

“It's not easy to get used to. And I’m not sure how much I can help, but I'm here if you needed to talk. Remember, you are not alone, we all understand the feelings and we'll help. And, if you’re tired and just want to hide from the world for a couple of hours...come find me or the other hyungs, especially the other 96 liners. We knew the best hiding spots in this building and even back in the dorm.”

Minghao nodded slowly and took a deep breath before shooting his hyung a sincere smile.

“...I will. Thank you for the advice hyung.” 

“Hmm, hmm. So how about it? Wanna hide here for a couple more hours? None will bother us in here.”

“...If you don’t mind me staying with you, then yes please.”

“I’ll let you stay as long as you don’t make too much noise. And the desk is mine. Go make yourself comfortable in the sofa. Remember to use the posture cushion too.” Jihoon said as he shooed Minghao away and settled down on his desk to continue working. Jihoon was planning to grab lunch but with Minghao wanting to hide...lunch will have to wait. And just like that, the room fell into a comfortable silence.

One hour later, Jihoon looked up from his work to find Minghao, dozing off on the sofa with his headphones on and an opened book on his lap. The younger was asleep with a peaceful expression on his face. Jihoon allowed a small smile to grace his lips before taking out his phone to snap a picture. He then sent the picture to the _ProteccOurKermit!_ group chat that was full of worried messages because none could find their Chinese junior. Jihoon sent a quick text to follow up the picture.

Vo-Bo: _With me. He’s fine._

NotAegi: _OH THANK GOD! We couldn’t find him! Hoshi-hyung’s panicking._

EommaHannie: _Bless u Jihoonie. I’ll stop Cheolie be4 he rly start a search party for HaoHao. Brb._

ChinaPrince: _IS HAOHAO OK?????? & Thank U 4 the Pic Jihoonie <3 TAKE MORE PLS! _

Vo-Bo: _He’s ok. Just needed some time away frm everything. He’ll go back when he wants 2. Don’t come & don’t bother us. FYI I have my guitar here & nt afraid 2 use it. Jun-hyung, stop being creepy & fuck off pls._

ChinaPrince: _Σ(T□T)_

OurHouseWife: _I was abt 2 go n visit but...nope. I refuse 2 b in the same room as that guitar. I do not wish to die tdy._

Vo-Bo: _Good. Soonyoung, stop panicking & bring coffee 4 me & food for two, Tks. Now everyone, stop worrying & go back to practice. Or you'll personally meet my guitar:)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, its Minghao and Woozi/Jihoon time~ I like how Jihoon is kinda passive aggressive? Like, I always imagined him cursing while giving advice/pointers to the others??? Thats how this chapter got made anyways, I hope it is not too OOC (^▽^;). I'll try to write the rest of the chapter soon! 3 more chapter to go~! Once again, all kudos & comments are appreciated!:)
> 
> Just to be clear:  
> Vo-Bo = Vocal Boss (Jihoon)  
> NotAegi (Dino/Chan)  
> EommaHannie (Jeonghan)  
> ChinaPrince (Jun)  
> OurHouseWife (Mingyu)

**Author's Note:**

> Ok, so I just want to make it clear:
> 
> The feelings and reactions in this fanfic did not happen in real life. I don't know what Minghao thinks or feels about his back pains and what was written here, are solely based on my imagination. I just want to make it clear because I didn't want to come across as being presumptuous or anything like that. I hope you understand, tks. 
> 
> I hope you enjoyed the story. Any comments/kudos will be greatly appreciated :) Thank you for reading~


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